Post by strangelander on Sept 19, 2009 13:35:30 GMT -5
(combination topic of General and Ideas)
Hi there folks I just wanted to say I've been logged and playing on your site here for enough time that I wanted to give some feedback, comment on RP, and generally fire off some thought-bolts.
I'm a longtime NWN player from the time the game first came out. I tried NWN2, was disappointed in the feel and direction that title was headed, and returned gladly to playing the original. I have played numerous ways, from PVP to powergaming a min-maxed dethbot, to heavy RP. I was drawn to this particular site when I learned of it on the vault, even moreso when I saw that it was strung up by folks who were also connected to another rp server where I'd had experience at. As soon as I logged in here, a certain dm introduced himself, answered some initial questions I had (including a trick question heh) and I was immediately moved to play enough to review the place. After giving it a good lot (I try to play at a site a few solid hours, alone and in the company of other players if possible, before initially reviewing) I knew I had found someplace special... so, to those dms and designer(s) who wonder if all those special touches are being noticed and count for something to a random player just logging in to slog, they are and they do.
Feedback:
* Server population : not many folks on at any one time (comparatively), but when I log in a lot of players are welcoming and responsive. Mature players and surpisingly great roleplaying... I am learning more than a thing or two! Much respect to the players behind the characters.
* DM staff : I've chafed under less-than-pleasant DM stewardship on other sites, but my experiences here have really been pleasant. DMs have not only been cordial, but -polite-, and that counts for quite a lot, personally.
* Area construction : the tileset haks make a big difference to me, as they allow me to use the terrain tactically as well as keeping things interesting instead of a point A to point B situation. Also, none of the areas I've visited have been too detail-dense, which is also welcoming. As a player, I find the dungeons far easier to navigate with a balanced amount of placeables and other bits. As a character, I appreciate that there is enough to bounce my five senses off of, interact with, or speculate on... and not too much to pull me in too many directions. Also, I've seen things here that I've not witnessed before, like the water locks, which not only excite me as a player, but give some real meat to the areas they are specific to. Everyone who's played at other places is probably already familiar with the standard Fence Where Everyone Stands Around Gabbing, or Tree or Table or whathaveyou... I haven't seen that here, save perhaps the ring of hay bales in Orlbar's sheep barn, but even that divergence from most of the other sites I've played at gives me a good feeling... a personal quirk, true, but something that niggles when I experience it on other sites.
* Economy : Now here is where my feelings differ greatly from site to site, as I go. I tend to rate a site's economy personally, by totalling my character's cash value at any given time, and factoring in the relative ease at which he/she could generate wealth in any given area. In my own rating, one end of the scale is how easy it is to lose/spend money and items to the environments and hazards (ie, healing means, replacing lost kit, respawn penalties etc.) and on up to the pinnacle where finding highly valuable objects sits. As of yet, my central character's wealth has hovered consistently at very nearly the same number. Now, this is all -very- relative, but it is a hopeful sign of the balance issues with respect to abundance and dearth, and it certainly shows that the designer(s) have put much thought into the process. For example, my central character possesses a few hundred coins in ready cash. She found a solid gold ring early on that she's worn ever since as an emergency pawn, and has only come close to needing it once. She has hoarded a good lot of gems, which she rarely gets even a decent price for and so keeps them for now, and has found a single magical item, excluding consumables like low-level scrolls and potions. She's found the need to raise cash several times by utilising the environment iterations... she and another player literally had to fish for their passage back to Orlbar after a little adventure left them rather broke. These experiences have solidified my faith in the creator and maintainers and their ability to negotiate balance. Wealth is easy to overlook, as is the effect on the site economy as a whole. I am certain there are wealthy characters, no doubt, but I am happy to be one of the scrabblers who actively needs to replace funds spent on preparing for any given adventure. Personally, this keeps me interested as a player and resolute as a character.
* Magic Items : really goes with economy, but separately I wanted to comment on those that I've seen for sale and in use during play by other characters: another key point in server balance, magic items can quickly become a dividing line between characters, players, and the ways in which they act. I've seen it and done it, so I am always glad to see customised magic items that are special enough to mean something to player -and- character, but reined-in enough to be useful but not overpowering. Specifically, the day-per-use charged weapons that I've seen for sale in flavors... great idea, great implementation. I've witnessed other players utilising such as a means to rp, too, which is always fun. The prices seem high, but then my centra character is only fleetingly familiar with the local trade situtation. As a player, the prices are set reasonable enough to attain, at effort, but high enough to make one consider carefully. All in all, it's a positive sign. My centra character's only seen a handful of magic items in use, and so each one is a marvel to her. Granted, the item she carries came floating to her on dm-wings, surely
, but as a player that just makes me appreciative and grateful. I know enough not to expect magic to start dropping from the skies like seagull spat... right? Right?
Comment on RP:
Ah... players and their characters. I sometimes have trouble separating the two (race: human subrace: all-too), and I can appreciate it greatly when I encounter other players who have markedly different characters and maintain relationships with my own character(s) that are played true to those characters. Simply put, the players I've met to here are mature and diligent, which also counts for a good chunk of respect. Props out to all of you who inhabit the site, really. My central character's experiences have been varied, and she's had to impose her alignment a few times, but all tallied up I've been rather impressed by you all. Even though player me knows I've been cheated and swindled by some of you, character me is so far enamored of most of you, and only a bit fearful of the rest (accent on the wizards). I'm trying to fit more to my alignment, which I am not used to playing. Thank you for not coming apart at the seams when I drop errors about (personally, wrong-clicky wise, grammatically) as has been my experience on, sadly, a majority of other sites. Also, my central character does some pretty tactically unsound things in combat, and so far the others she's been running around with have yet to pop a vein at this. Thanks for letting this player's character just be.
The roleplaying here has been quite tasty, and I've had many good laughs and a few curses at some of you behind my monitor. It's all good though, because if you didn't make me care, I wouldn't have a response. Anyway, touchy-feel-good is all find and dandy... moving on.
Subcomment specifically for Slothfulcat: Passion and smartass can make funny things happen when they're only available in a condensed font, single-color. I didn't want to muck up a certain thread with the following: please don't take my comments or the feeling behind them as anything but what they are... comments. Your viewpoint is as valid as anyone else's. I apologise that I was insensitive to that, really.
Some thought-bolts:
(please note these are pulled and shot from a quiver of spontaneity, to keep at a bad metaphor. not a lot of consideration has gone into them, just jotted as they came during play)
* more rp-relative items would be nice? ie: flags, light sources (not necessarily with actual glows), etc. crafted a fish out of a club and call it Clubby the Chub but use it for rp fun.
* healing seems carefully thought out as far as items/uses/power levels. are actual healing kits supposed to drop as loot? found 2 at a time.
* alternate travel: 50coins a boat-ride buys a LOT of deck wax. maybe an alternate means of travel and more intimate, ie: 2-person rowboat ride that costs less but holds inherent danger (ambush attacks, getting dropped or stranded at not-quite-your-destination, capsizing, being pickpocketed/mugged by a dishonorable guide).
* wildlife! i understand (all too well) how the current perceptions of wildlife work...but is there more? I mean... more random creatures that sneak out either/or during day/night? Hmm... nocturnal swarms of bats or a pregnant, foraging boar-sow...
* a hot-spot for arcanists and/or other special interest groups: i've been to a certain snotty mage tower, and i haven't been -everywhere- but maybe a specific location for wizards to moot or practise or whatnot: library, apothecary, wizardworks... something along the lines that slothfulcat was interested in so that research could be rp'd, class-items could be tinkered...
* under construction! how about sites/placeables to indicate where something is happening that bears future note... i've seen the hazard signs marking server area boundaries, but i am speaking more to a character-responsive role in them.
(edit: just found a standards shop full of flags!)
Hi there folks I just wanted to say I've been logged and playing on your site here for enough time that I wanted to give some feedback, comment on RP, and generally fire off some thought-bolts.
I'm a longtime NWN player from the time the game first came out. I tried NWN2, was disappointed in the feel and direction that title was headed, and returned gladly to playing the original. I have played numerous ways, from PVP to powergaming a min-maxed dethbot, to heavy RP. I was drawn to this particular site when I learned of it on the vault, even moreso when I saw that it was strung up by folks who were also connected to another rp server where I'd had experience at. As soon as I logged in here, a certain dm introduced himself, answered some initial questions I had (including a trick question heh) and I was immediately moved to play enough to review the place. After giving it a good lot (I try to play at a site a few solid hours, alone and in the company of other players if possible, before initially reviewing) I knew I had found someplace special... so, to those dms and designer(s) who wonder if all those special touches are being noticed and count for something to a random player just logging in to slog, they are and they do.
Feedback:
* Server population : not many folks on at any one time (comparatively), but when I log in a lot of players are welcoming and responsive. Mature players and surpisingly great roleplaying... I am learning more than a thing or two! Much respect to the players behind the characters.
* DM staff : I've chafed under less-than-pleasant DM stewardship on other sites, but my experiences here have really been pleasant. DMs have not only been cordial, but -polite-, and that counts for quite a lot, personally.
* Area construction : the tileset haks make a big difference to me, as they allow me to use the terrain tactically as well as keeping things interesting instead of a point A to point B situation. Also, none of the areas I've visited have been too detail-dense, which is also welcoming. As a player, I find the dungeons far easier to navigate with a balanced amount of placeables and other bits. As a character, I appreciate that there is enough to bounce my five senses off of, interact with, or speculate on... and not too much to pull me in too many directions. Also, I've seen things here that I've not witnessed before, like the water locks, which not only excite me as a player, but give some real meat to the areas they are specific to. Everyone who's played at other places is probably already familiar with the standard Fence Where Everyone Stands Around Gabbing, or Tree or Table or whathaveyou... I haven't seen that here, save perhaps the ring of hay bales in Orlbar's sheep barn, but even that divergence from most of the other sites I've played at gives me a good feeling... a personal quirk, true, but something that niggles when I experience it on other sites.
* Economy : Now here is where my feelings differ greatly from site to site, as I go. I tend to rate a site's economy personally, by totalling my character's cash value at any given time, and factoring in the relative ease at which he/she could generate wealth in any given area. In my own rating, one end of the scale is how easy it is to lose/spend money and items to the environments and hazards (ie, healing means, replacing lost kit, respawn penalties etc.) and on up to the pinnacle where finding highly valuable objects sits. As of yet, my central character's wealth has hovered consistently at very nearly the same number. Now, this is all -very- relative, but it is a hopeful sign of the balance issues with respect to abundance and dearth, and it certainly shows that the designer(s) have put much thought into the process. For example, my central character possesses a few hundred coins in ready cash. She found a solid gold ring early on that she's worn ever since as an emergency pawn, and has only come close to needing it once. She has hoarded a good lot of gems, which she rarely gets even a decent price for and so keeps them for now, and has found a single magical item, excluding consumables like low-level scrolls and potions. She's found the need to raise cash several times by utilising the environment iterations... she and another player literally had to fish for their passage back to Orlbar after a little adventure left them rather broke. These experiences have solidified my faith in the creator and maintainers and their ability to negotiate balance. Wealth is easy to overlook, as is the effect on the site economy as a whole. I am certain there are wealthy characters, no doubt, but I am happy to be one of the scrabblers who actively needs to replace funds spent on preparing for any given adventure. Personally, this keeps me interested as a player and resolute as a character.
* Magic Items : really goes with economy, but separately I wanted to comment on those that I've seen for sale and in use during play by other characters: another key point in server balance, magic items can quickly become a dividing line between characters, players, and the ways in which they act. I've seen it and done it, so I am always glad to see customised magic items that are special enough to mean something to player -and- character, but reined-in enough to be useful but not overpowering. Specifically, the day-per-use charged weapons that I've seen for sale in flavors... great idea, great implementation. I've witnessed other players utilising such as a means to rp, too, which is always fun. The prices seem high, but then my centra character is only fleetingly familiar with the local trade situtation. As a player, the prices are set reasonable enough to attain, at effort, but high enough to make one consider carefully. All in all, it's a positive sign. My centra character's only seen a handful of magic items in use, and so each one is a marvel to her. Granted, the item she carries came floating to her on dm-wings, surely
, but as a player that just makes me appreciative and grateful. I know enough not to expect magic to start dropping from the skies like seagull spat... right? Right?Comment on RP:
Ah... players and their characters. I sometimes have trouble separating the two (race: human subrace: all-too), and I can appreciate it greatly when I encounter other players who have markedly different characters and maintain relationships with my own character(s) that are played true to those characters. Simply put, the players I've met to here are mature and diligent, which also counts for a good chunk of respect. Props out to all of you who inhabit the site, really. My central character's experiences have been varied, and she's had to impose her alignment a few times, but all tallied up I've been rather impressed by you all. Even though player me knows I've been cheated and swindled by some of you, character me is so far enamored of most of you, and only a bit fearful of the rest (accent on the wizards). I'm trying to fit more to my alignment, which I am not used to playing. Thank you for not coming apart at the seams when I drop errors about (personally, wrong-clicky wise, grammatically) as has been my experience on, sadly, a majority of other sites. Also, my central character does some pretty tactically unsound things in combat, and so far the others she's been running around with have yet to pop a vein at this. Thanks for letting this player's character just be.
The roleplaying here has been quite tasty, and I've had many good laughs and a few curses at some of you behind my monitor. It's all good though, because if you didn't make me care, I wouldn't have a response. Anyway, touchy-feel-good is all find and dandy... moving on.
Subcomment specifically for Slothfulcat: Passion and smartass can make funny things happen when they're only available in a condensed font, single-color. I didn't want to muck up a certain thread with the following: please don't take my comments or the feeling behind them as anything but what they are... comments. Your viewpoint is as valid as anyone else's. I apologise that I was insensitive to that, really.
Some thought-bolts:
(please note these are pulled and shot from a quiver of spontaneity, to keep at a bad metaphor. not a lot of consideration has gone into them, just jotted as they came during play)
* more rp-relative items would be nice? ie: flags, light sources (not necessarily with actual glows), etc. crafted a fish out of a club and call it Clubby the Chub but use it for rp fun.
* healing seems carefully thought out as far as items/uses/power levels. are actual healing kits supposed to drop as loot? found 2 at a time.
* alternate travel: 50coins a boat-ride buys a LOT of deck wax. maybe an alternate means of travel and more intimate, ie: 2-person rowboat ride that costs less but holds inherent danger (ambush attacks, getting dropped or stranded at not-quite-your-destination, capsizing, being pickpocketed/mugged by a dishonorable guide).
* wildlife! i understand (all too well) how the current perceptions of wildlife work...but is there more? I mean... more random creatures that sneak out either/or during day/night? Hmm... nocturnal swarms of bats or a pregnant, foraging boar-sow...
* a hot-spot for arcanists and/or other special interest groups: i've been to a certain snotty mage tower, and i haven't been -everywhere- but maybe a specific location for wizards to moot or practise or whatnot: library, apothecary, wizardworks... something along the lines that slothfulcat was interested in so that research could be rp'd, class-items could be tinkered...
* under construction! how about sites/placeables to indicate where something is happening that bears future note... i've seen the hazard signs marking server area boundaries, but i am speaking more to a character-responsive role in them.
(edit: just found a standards shop full of flags!)
